DeHart to Lead Holocaust Education Trip to Europe

For several years Erin DeHart, associate professor of education, has been leading YC students on Holocaust Special Studies trips to New York and Washington D.C. to meet survivors and visit Holocaust museums.

There’s one question she says she hears from students over and over again at the end of the trip: What’s next?

DeHart finally has the answer. She is planning at trip to Europe in 2014 and she’s inviting alumni, educators, and anyone with a passion for this topic to go with her.

“We’re going to study the Holocaust in a more experiential way,” she says. “We will walk through the barracks of Auschwitz. We will see where Hitler had their ashes buried and evidence covered up.”

The trip will be July 7-17, 2014. There is space for 19 people to participate. The group will make stops in Germany, Poland, and Prague.

DeHart went on a similar trip herself in 2010. She said the experience changed her. “Even though you read about it in books and talk to survivors, you don’t really understand the enormity of the Holocaust,” the way you do once you’ve seen the places first hand, she says. It makes the history very personal.

“You don’t leave a trip like that the same person you were before,” she says. Instead, she has seen her students and herself changed. Studying the Holocaust makes you want to be a better person, she says. It makes you more aware of social injustice in our world and it makes you want to get involved in solving problems, not just being a bystander.

The total cost for the trip is $4,183 for students and $4,453 for adults. This includes travel, lodging, most meals, and entrance to all of the museums and historical sites for 10 days. DeHart is accepting applications for the trip now. Other faculty members going on the trip include Bob DeHart and Chris Luther. If you are interested, please contact DeHart atedehart@york.edu or register for the trip on their dedicated page with their travel agency.

(Please note, the dates mentioned on this video are incorrect. Trip dates have changed since this video was recorded.)